The Pain of Love
by Klove0511
Summary: Begins where vol. 10 ends, and goes off in its own direction. Some vol. 11 spoilers. Kyo sees something he doesn't like and runs off, Tohru chases him but gets lost and finds Akito instead. Who will win her heart, Yuki or Kyo?
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I've been reading and reviewing stories for what seems like an eternity, but I guess is really just a few months. So yeah... The title and summary aren't too great are they? If you have suggestions I'd love to hear them. Especially for a better title. Ok then... On with the story! 

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sadly enough. But I want to own Kyo... You think I could buy Kyo from her?

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Prologue 

After he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, he leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "I love you."

Chapter 1

"I love you?' He loves me? How? When? Oh mom, what do I do now? Is this a dream? No, it can't be, I heard him say it. 'I love you," Tohru Honda thought fretfully as she and Yuki Sohma made their way back to the summerhouse. 'Should I have said something? What if I hurt his feelings by not saying anything? Should I have said 'I love you,' too? But Mom always said that you shouldn't tell someone you love them unless you mean it. Do I love Yuki-kun? I don't know, I've never really thought about it before.'

Thud! Thinking and walking tended to be a bad combination for Tohru and this time proved to be no exception as she smacked her head against a low-hanging branch. She stopped and rubbed her forehead as Yuki turned to see what had made the noise.

"Honda-san! Are you all right?" Yuki asked, concern evident in his voice as he rushed back to her side.

"I'm fine, Yuki-kun. I was just thinking and didn't notice the branch."

Yuki laughed and held the branch away so she could walk by it without causing herself further harm as they emerged from the trees.

The next few days of vacation were relatively uneventful. Akito continued to monopolize everyone's time, leaving Tohru and Kyo alone together during the day. Tohru tended to remain lost in her own thoughts about Yuki's words to her. No matter how much she thought, she couldn't come up with an answer to her question: did she love Yuki? She knew she cared about him, but she also cared about Kyo. And, when she thought to look, Kyo seemed to act strangely around her too. Did he love her as well? If so, how did she feel about him? The more she thought, the more confused and concerned she became. Instead of finding answers to her questions Tohru only managed to think of more questions that needed answers.

As a result of this preoccupation, Tohru took up the habit of walking alone in the forest to help her focus. It didn't help her dilemma much, but she did enjoy the beautiful forest. Kyo noticed that Tohru seemed more ditzy than normal, but kept his observations to himself. He still remembered that night in the kitchen, when he'd nearly gotten her to open up, but as soon as she knew that he saw her worries, she'd closed down even harder. Confronting her about her feelings didn't exactly sound like the best idea to him. And so he watched her and worried silently.

Finally, one day when everyone, including Kyo for the first time this vacation, was away with Akito, she took a walk in the woods in yet another attempt to calm her thoughts and discern her feelings for Yuki and Kyo.

To her surprise, when she looked up at the path in front of her she saw Yuki, much as she had days ago, when he confessed his love for her.

"Yuki-kun! What are you doing here? I thought you were visiting Akito," Tohru stammered in surprise.

"Well, he's speaking with the stupid cat right now, so I decided to sneak off for a little bit. I wanted to clear my head," Yuki replied with a smile. "Although, I must admit, I'm quite happy I had the chance to meet you in the woods again, Honda-san. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the chance to do this." As he spoke his voice grew progressively quieter, until his last words were barely a whisper. This had the effect of causing Tohru to lean ever closer to him so she could hear what he was saying. Their heads were so close when he stopped talking that their lips were almost touching already. Yuki's hand gently came up and cupped Tohru's cheek as his lips closed the short distance to hers. He pressed his mouth firmly against her virgin lips, relishing the warmth of her soft mouth. Careful to keep just enough distance between their bodies to prevent a sudden transformation into a rat, his other hand reached behind her and pulled her closer.

At that moment, there was a rustling in the woods beside them, and Yuki immediately broke the kiss and glanced, startled, in the direction of the noise. Tohru stood stock-still, knowing that if she moved the wrong way she'd trigger the curse. Besides, she was still in quite a bit of shock at being kissed so suddenly. Thoughts raced through her head, once she somewhat recovered her sense. It felt like she was in a dream as she struggled to think of something to do or say. She knew an appropriate response: "I love you." However, she couldn't bring herself to tell Yuki that she loved him. She was still far to unsure of her feelings for both him and Kyo to tell him anything one way or another. Then, she heard him mutter under his breath, "Great, the stupid cat had to see that."

Kyo tore through the forest at a blinding speed. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen, Tohru kissing Yuki. The damn rat's arm around her; her eyes closed in bliss; the thought stabbed his heart. There had been no mistaking the look on her face during that kiss, it had been sheer joy. Not that he could blame her, really. The rat had always beaten him in everything, martial arts, ping pong, checkers, cards, and now the battle for Tohru's heart. He plunged onward further and further into the forest, neither noticing nor caring that branches tore at his mud-covered clothes.

'Stupid cat? What could he mean?' Tohru gasped in realization. 'Kyo! Oh no! He saw!' Without another thought for the rat, she took off into the forest after Kyo, praying that she would be able to find him and convince him that the kiss had not been her choice.

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Yay! Anyway, asanother author (or two)said,since you've gotten this far you've obviously read, so please review. I appreciate all comments. If there are any suggestions for improvement, PLEASE tell me. I certainly prefer good reviews to bad ones,but if you really don't like it, please feel free to tell me, as long as you also tell me why. I'm also open to ideas you might have. Most of the story is written, but it's going through editing, so ideas I particularly like may find a place.

And thank you to my one reviewer so far...


	2. Chapter 2

Yay! Another chapter! Please, review! I want to know what you guys think of this story, good or bad. I think perhaps in the near future I will bring some characters in for a little chat in the author notes... I mean, if I can't own Kyo (or any of the other characters for that matter) why not sit and chat with them in the one place I can? Thank you to everyone that has helped me edit this story, even though I don't think any of you are going to read this shout-out...

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Chapter 2 

Tohru plunged headlong into the woods in the direction Kyo had gone. Only one thought occupied her mind, 'Please, let me find him.'

Kyo continued his blind dash until finally, after an hour, maybe more, he grew tired and stopped. Despite the weariness in his legs, Kyo still felt plenty of excess energy coursing through him. Slamming his fist into a tree, his rage masked any pain he might have felt in his hand. Sitting down on a decaying log, he held his head in his hands. 'How could this happen? I love her. How could she betray me like this? "Together forever", huh? Guess I took THAT the wrong way. I really am a stupid cat for thinking she could ever love me,' Kyo thought to himself. Anger stabbed at him. He felt as though he would explode if he didn't do something. Swinging his fist again, the tree bark splintered from the force of his punch. When he removed his scraped hand, a fist-sized dent could be seen on the tree. That had felt good. Standing, Kyo used the tree as a punching bag, throwing kicks and punches at it until his knuckles bled and he finally exhausted his frustration. Kyo slumped back onto his decaying log and fought the urge to cry as he thought to himself, 'When did I start thinking she might feel that way about me? When she accepted my true form? When we cooked lunch at Shishou's? Damn it! Why'd I have to go looking for her? They could've told me later. At least then I wouldn't have had to see them kiss like that. Stupid, stupid, stupid cat. And that damn rat. He knew how I felt. I know he did. That bastard did this to spite me. And she went along with it. I can't believe she'd do that. How could she love him? She deserves better than that damn rat. Damn it!'

As darkness closed in around him, Kyo became aware of the fact that he hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. His stomach growled a reminder of this fact and Kyo cursed his weakness for food, 'Aw, damn it! Damn stomach.' Sighing, Kyo quietly said to himself, "Well, it is getting kinda late; I guess I should head back before anyone worries about me. She would worry, too. She might love him, but I bet she'd still worry." Looking around, trying to get his bearings, Kyo heard the ocean not far off to his left. 'Great, I can get back easily if I just follow the beach.' He set off, thoughts of Tohru and Yuki plaguing him as he walked.

Meanwhile as the day turned to evening, Tohru realized that she was hopelessly lost in the forest. The sounds of Kyo crashing through the branches had faded long ago, as she had tired much faster than the swift cat. Sitting on a large tree root, she realized how foolish she'd been and began to cry softly.

As she cried she thought to herself, 'Why didn't I notice how they felt earlier? Why couldn't I see it? And now I'm still as confused as ever about how I feel about them. And Kyo-kun probably hates me. After he saw Yuki-kun kiss me, I'm sure he hates me. Why else would he run off like that? Oh no, Yuki-kun probably thinks I hate him! I ran off just like Kyo-kun. What if he never wants to see me again? Oh no! What if neither of them wants to see me again? Oh Tohru, how could you be so stupid? You don't deserve friends like that. You don't deserve their love either. Not if you're going to be such a fool about everything. It's probably better that they hate-'

Her thoughts were broken by a sharp laugh. Her head jerked up in surprise, and she saw Akito standing in front of her.

"Akito-san? What are you doing here?" she asked timidly.

"Why, I was just taking a walk, stretching my legs. But why on earth are you crying, my dear? Did that stupid cat hurt you? He hates you, you know. He told me that himself today." Akito laughed cruelly as Tohru's tear-stained face looked up at him, an immense sadness welling up inside of her as Akito confirmed her worst fears.

She heard Akito's words, but she never connected them to the correct time. It never occurred to her that Akito couldn't possibly be speaking of Kyo's reaction to Yuki's kiss. And so his words bit into her heart. Despair welled up inside Tohru's small frame. Kyo really did hate her. Surely he'd never want to be near her again after this. And Yuki almost certainly felt the same way. If Kyo hated her, why wouldn't Yuki? Finally, the sadness and Akito's cruel laughter became too much for her too handle.

At that moment, something very uncharacteristic of Tohru happened. Something in her snapped, and she became angry. Her sadness and guilt were temporarily swept away as an anger greater than anything she had ever felt washed over her. All of the stories she'd heard about Akito came back to her, the ones about Hatori and Kana and poor Kisa. She clearly remembered the fear on Yuki's face when he'd seen Akito at school last year, and she recalled Momiji's sadness when he spoke of his mother.

Despite the storm of anger raging inside her, her voice came out quite softly at first, gaining strength with every word, every question, every accusation. "I'm not crying because Kyo-kun hurt me. Kyo-kun would never hurt me. Even if he does hate me, he would never do anything to hurt me. I'm crying because Yuki-kun kissed me, and I don't know how I feel. Neither of them would hurt me. They aren't like that. YOU are the one that hurts people, Akito-san. You hurt Hatori-san's eye, and you hurt Kisa-san. Why did you hurt them? Why do you always hurt people, Akito-san? Why? Why are you so angry? Why do they fear you? Who ARE you to them?" With that, her fit of anger subsided and she sank to her knees, the source of her strength gone.

Akito stood stock-still in shock. No one yelled at him. Ever. Throughout her tirade, Akito was simply trying to understand how anyone could dare to scream at him. He was Akito, most feared and respected of the Sohma family. None of his little animals could go against him, none of the other Sohmas dared to. This type of outburst was unheard of. Akito, now furious with the young girl who'd found the courage to yell at him, responded with an icy calm dripping with threat, "You want to know who I am? You should already know who I am, you stupid girl." His voice rose as he lost his control over his immense rage, "God invited all of the animals to His banquet, yes? Every year, where do they go? They come to MY banquet. To the members of the Zodiac I am the closest thing they have to God. They are MY animals. You can't save them. You can't take them away from me." He was nearly yelling now, determined to cause this girl as much mental pain as he possibly could before he taught her a lesson, a lesson so many of the Juunishi knew so well. "As soon as he graduates, Kyo will be locked away forever. Just like the cat before him, he will be confined, all alone, for the rest of his life. Until he dies. Unless of course he beats Yuki, which will never happen. It CAN'T happen. Yuki and the others will return to me. We will all live together, in an endless banquet, happy. I won't let you take them from me. They're MINE. MINE! You can't have Yuki! You can't take my little rat! MY YUKI!" Tohru's small body began to shake as tears spilled from her horror-filled eyes. She turned her tear-stained face up to look at him, and an evil smile spread across Akito's face when he saw this. He grabbed her chin with his hand, digging his nails into her wet cheek, and he continued speaking, reading thoughts she had barely begun to form, "You can't break the curse. NO ONE can break the curse. They must love ME and only ME. I won't let you take them!"

With that, he threw her to the ground. Tohru didn't make any attempt to get up, but her body continued to shake as the weight of Akito's words pressed onto her. Akito's fury was far beyond the scope of his control. He was going to make this girl pay for kissing his Yuki. Rage in his eyes, he drew his leg back and kicked her with all of his strength. He kicked again and again, until his frail body was completely worn out. His anger spent, Akito stared at her still form for a while, then turned and disappeared into the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

At last! Another chapter! Sorry about the long delay. Between finals and projects I didn't have time to revise the third chapter. But here it is. YAY! Ok, enough of me, here's the chapter. Oh, and don't forget to review when your done, k? 

Disclaimer: Not mine today, not mine tomorrow….. Not mine ever.

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Chapter 3

Back at the summer home, everyone else had returned from visiting Akito several hours ago and had found neither Tohru nor Kyo waiting for them. At first, they thought the two had simply taken a walk, but as day turned to evening, they began to worry.

Momiji and Kisa hovered near Shigure, hoping the mischievous dog would miraculously give them an answer on Tohru's whereabouts. Shigure, for his part, was wondering what naughty things Kyo had devised to steal Tohru's innocence and vaguely wishing it could have been him instead of the cat. Hatori sat silent, smoking a cigarette and appearing to be oblivious to everyone else's worries. However, he was in reality every bit as worried as the others, perhaps more so, since as he was leaving the other house he'd heard Akito mention desiring to go on a walk, alone. Hatori only hoped Kureno had decided to go with the god and that neither Tohru nor Kyo ran into the frail man. Hatsuharu sat watching Yuki and wondered what could have the rat looking so serious. Surely, Yuki wasn't exactly an overly joyous person, but it was rare anymore for him to be so somber, especially when Kyo was away. Perhaps it was the fact not only was Kyo gone, but Tohru with him? Yuki, not wanting to think about what could be happening between the stupid cat and his Tohru, tried his best to forget how she had dashed after Kyo. With a start, he realized he thought of her as his, and this thought occupied his mind for a while. Did one kiss make her his? Certainly not, but the thought wouldn't quite leave his mind. 'She's not mine, no matter how much I would like for her to be. Not yet at any rate. And the way she ran after that stupid cat, it's almost enough to make me think she loves him instead. No. I can't think like that. But where could the two of them be all day? I'm sure they're together out there, wherever they are. And she's probably being her sweet adorable self, calming him down. Maybe he tried something? She'd never go along with it, if she knew what he was trying to do. But it's her, I'm sure she wouldn't understand.' Yuki's eyes widened at the thought of Kyo coaxing Tohru to let him do certain unmentionable things to her. He could clearly picture her blush as the cat touched her. Yuki shook the thought from his head, alarmed at the fe eling of jealousy rising in him as the image plagued his mind. Nevertheless, the thought refused to completely leave, and he remained lost in his own thoughts until a very dirty and disheveled Kyo stumbled through the door.

Immediately everyone surrounded the tired cat, bombarding him with questions.

"Where were you?"

"Where is Onee-chan? She was with you, right?"

"You haven't been doing anything untoward to our precious Tohru-kun, have you?"

"Kyo! Where's Tohru?"

"What happened to your clothes? They're so dirty!"

Bewildered, Kyo finally broke free from the crowd surrounding him and yelled at everyone to be quiet.

"Why do you keep asking me about Tohru? I haven't seen her all day. Why don't you ask that damn rat what he did with her?" Everyone's eyes turned to Yuki, who blushed furiously.

"I didn't do anything. Not like that. No, nothing like that. Shigure, stop looking at me like that," Yuki babbled, uncharacteristically flustered by everyone's stares. Then he managed to regain his composure as he said, "And I haven't seen her since this morning, how am I supposed to know where she is?"

Everyone turned back to Kyo expectantly.

"Damn rat, you know that's not true! I saw you with her! If anyone would know where she is it would be you!"

"And I said I haven't seen her since this morning. That's not a lie. Why would I bother lying to such a simple-minded fool?"

"Why you! Come here and say that to my face!" Kyo moved to punch Yuki's lights out, a move that would probably have failed, when it suddenly dawned on him what they had actually been arguing about. "What? If no one has seen her since this morning, that means she's not here. And that also means no one knows where she is. Why hasn't anyone gone looking for her?" Kyo asked, suddenly scared as the thought of Tohru, lying in the woods broken and bleeding, rushed through his mind.

As some of them were preparing to respond, a man came up to the door and knocked. Answering it, Shigure looked surprised.

"Kureno-kun! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I don't know exactly how to say this, but has anyone seen Akito? He went on a walk alone some time ago, and I'm beginning to get worried."

Upon hearing this, Yuki and Kyo glared at each other before dashing out the door and into the trees, nearly running over Shigure and Kureno in the process.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back! Sorry it takes so long to update... I know my chapters can be short.This one is particularly short. I'm sorry.I'll update again soon. I hope. :) Anyway, thank you to everyone that has reviewed so far. I hope more people decide to review (hint hint). Hope you enjoy! 

I was going to do discussions with the characters in the author notes, but I'm too lazy to at the moment. Maybe next chapter.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Chapter 4

After Kureno left, everyone else followed the boys in search of Tohru, everyone except Kisa, Hiro, and Hatori, who was forced to play babysitter for the two children. Surprisingly, despite his penchant for getting lost, Hatsuharu was permitted to search as well.

After hours of searching it was finally Hatsuharu who found her, after he nearly tripped over her still body. He bent down and gently shook her, hoping she'd just fallen asleep in the woods. However, when he placed a hand on her head, he felt a sticky substance, not quite dry, coating her face, and he knew she had not simply fallen asleep among the trees. After he made sure she didn't have any obvious broken bones or large, still bleeding wounds, he gently picked her up and swiftly carried the battered Tohru back to the summerhouse, careful to hold her away from his chest.

Thankfully, the children had gone to sleep, and a few of the searchers had come back, disappointed, but hoping someone else had come back with her. These two, Shigure and Momiji, immediately went back out in search of Yuki and Kyo.

After shooing Hatsuharu from the room and sending him to get clean cloths and hot water, Hatori proceeded to examine Tohru. Thankfully, Akito's strongest kick was still remarkably weak, and she hadn't suffered any serious injuries. The most serious wound was the one on her face, which had bled quite a bit. Hatori cleaned her wounds, bandaged her, and very carefully tucked her under a blanket on the couch. As he worked, he knew in his heart that Akito had done this to her.

At about that time, Yuki and Kyo burst into the room demanding to know how she was. Haru hadn't given them any more of a description other than "she's alive with a lot of blood on her face." Hatori did his best to quiet the boys, giving them a brief glance at the girl on the couch, and then he ushered them into the next room where everyone else waited. Looking at the worried faces, he summed up her injuries quickly, stating that she had some cuts, the most serious one near her temple, and a large mass of bruises on her side. Knowing Akito's strength well, he also said he seriously doubted that she had managed to break, or even slightly crack, any of her ribs.

When he was done speaking, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and their worry and the exhaustion of the search began to show on their faces. Shigure sent them all to bed and returned downstairs to speak with Hatori.

"She really is ok, Hatori, isn't she? You weren't hiding anything from them, were you?" Shigure asked as he seated himself next to the doctor.

"No, I wasn't. I really do believe she'll be fine in a few days. I am wondering how she came to be so far in the forest though. Hatsuharu said he found her quite a distance away. It's a miracle the boy didn't get lost bringing her back," the doctor said, hiding from his friend his certainty about the one who had injured the young girl.

"Yes, it is a curious thing, her being that deep in the forest. It was almost at the other house, was it not? And Yuki's and Kyo's reactions today, when everyone was questioning them, that was interesting as well. I wonder what happened with those three," Shigure replied, implying that he, too, knew who had hurt his precious flower.


	5. Chapter 5

And I'm back! Back with another chapter and back to school. That's good for everyone that likes the story, since it means I'll be able to update more often. Woot! So yeah, for all of you reading and not reviewing, you suck. Well, only a little. Because you're still reading. :) So yeah, review! Thanks to those of you that have, I love you all. 

Disclaimer: Haven't we already gone through this? It's not mine ok?

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Chapter 5

Tohru woke early the next morning and wondered what she was doing sleeping on the couch. A throbbing pain flooded her head when she tried to move, and yesterday's events came back to her in a flash. A small groan escaped her lips, despite her efforts to suppress any indication that she was in pain.

Immediately, Hatori, who had fallen into a light sleep in the living room, was up and by her side. "How are you feeling, Honda-kun?" he quickly asked, a professional tone to his voice.

"Oh, Hatori-san, I'm feeling fine. Thank you for asking," she replied automatically, hiding the throbbing pain from him lest he worry about her.

"Are you sure? That cut on your head is fairly large; I wouldn't be surprised if it caused you some pain. The same goes for the bruises on your side."

Tohru blushed fiercely as she realized he'd examined her already at some point while she had been unconscious. She softly admitted, "Well, my head does hurt a bit when I try to move it. I-I haven't tried to move anything else yet."

"I suggest you simply try to lie still for awhile. You have no serious injuries, but you will still need plenty of rest if you want to recover quickly," Hatori told her simply, a small smile playing across his normally solemn features. "After all, there are plenty of people in this house that become quite upset whenever you aren't feeling well."

"In that case, I think I'm going to take a nap," Tohru said through a stifled yawn, exhaustion once more taking over her body.

A short time later Kyo wandered downstairs, extra careful not to make any noise that would disturb the sleeping girl in the living room. He quickly popped his head into the room containing Tohru and asked Hatori, "How is she?"

"She woke up a little while ago, and then went back to sleep. Overall, she is doing as expected; she's completely worn out." Kyo turned his head to leave the room in peace when Hatori spoke up again. "Kyo, something happened yesterday. I don't know what it was exactly, but it put her in the path of Akito's anger. Be thankful Akito has been sick recently. Otherwise, her injuries may have been far more serious than they are. Whatever happened, it would not be wise to repeat it. Next time, Akito might not be so weak."

Kyo was suspicious, it wasn't like Hatori to pry into other's affairs or volunteer advice, advice to the cat that is. He decided to be honest, but only to an extent. After all, Kyo did tend to keep his feelings locked away in the deepest corners of his heart, only taking them out and examining them in the private of a rooftop. "I don't know how she met Akito. I saw something yesterday, and then I went off by myself the rest of the day. End of story," Kyo mumbled.

"I see. And I suppose this something was between Honda-kun and Yuki."

"What do you know?" Kyo shouted and stormed from the room. Hatori silently nodded his head; judging from Kyo's reaction, the topic had struck a nerve. What could have happened with Tohru and Yuki? Hatori's eyes slightly widened as he realized what would draw such a reaction from the fiery cat.

He didn't have time to ponder it much, however, because Kyo's shout woke up Tohru, and her eyes flew open. Hatori managed to quickly calm the startled girl and made sure she was asleep again before chasing after Kyo.

Unfortunately, Kyo's shout had also woken up several other family members, among them a rather groggy Yuki. "What are you shouting about so early in the morning, you stupid cat? Do you really want to disturb Honda-san when she should be resting?" he asked as he came downstairs.

Kyo's eyes glowed with anger, images of the two kissing flooding his mind. "Why you damn-" Yuki's hand swiftly covered the cat's mouth, silencing his shout abruptly.

"What did I just say about disturbing Honda-san? Now be quiet. You can fight me for her later." Kyo fought to stifle another shout at the rat, knowing in his heart that Yuki was right this time. There would be plenty of opportunities later to fight him.

Just then, Hatori tapped Kyo on the shoulder, causing the boy to jump several feet into the air in surprise. "Kyo, please keep an eye on Honda-kun today while we are visiting Akito. I suspect she'll spend most of the day sleeping, but don't hesitate to get me if her condition happens to worsen. As I said before, I don't foresee any problems, but here's a list of things to look for, just in case."

Kyo looked surprised at first, then slowly realized that of course he would be the one to watch over Tohru. Keeping her company had been his primary occupation on this vacation, and he'd enjoyed it. Somehow he suspected today would not be as pleasant for him. He noticed Yuki looking unhappy at the thought of Kyo staying alone with Tohru all day, and the cat sneered, "Don't worry, damn rat, it's not like I'm going to take advantage of her or anything."

Yuki flushed, the cat practically stating his thoughts word for word. "I hadn't thought you would be that stupid, stupid cat. But if you do try anything, I swear I'll kill you." Yuki's composure returned as he spoke, and he glared at the cat.

"I'm not stupid!" Kyo shouted, anger overwhelming him once more.

"Boys!" Hatori interjected before the fight could escalate into physical violence that would inevitably lead to the destruction of some part of the house. "If you must argue, do it outside where Honda-kun won't be disturbed. She needs her rest and can't get it with the two of you fighting over her like this."

Reluctantly the boys went outside as the other residents of the house made their way downstairs and Shigure called for takeout for breakfast. Once outside, tempers flared again. As usual, Kyo attacked first, with Yuki easily dodging the cat's fist. The rat proceeded to effortlessly block a series of punches and kicks from the enraged feline, until he saw an opening and kicked Kyo across the yard.

"Too easy, as usual," Yuki said, tired of Kyo's ceaseless temper. Kyo remained quiet as he picked himself up from the grass, glaring at the winning rat.


	6. Chapter 6

I meant to post this last night, but I had a killer migraine and sleep sounded a lot better than sitting in front of a computer posting a chapter. Sorry. But hey, I posted it a day late, no big deal. Next chapter...I don't know. Probably soon, but then there won't be another update for awhile. You see, the vast majority of this story is already written, but I need to do some massive revisions on some chapters in the near future. Massive revisionslonger between updates. Anyway, thanks to everyone that has reviewed, you make me feel loved. 

Disclaimer: Must I say it again? Fine...it's not mine.

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Chapter 6

Kyo tried to avoid Tohru most of the day, but he inevitably found himself drawn to her side. He watched her sleep, her chest gently rising and falling as she breathed. He never thought anyone could mean so much to him. And yet, she didn't love him. Not like that anyway. She loved Yuki. The damn rat had won again. Kyo wanted to hate her. He wanted to scream at her for her betrayal. How dare she accept his true form and then reject him like that? However, as he sat and watched her, he found his heart melting once more. He couldn't hate her. He couldn't even dislike her. No, he loved her. Honestly, truly loved her. And so, despite his hurt at her choice, he knew in heart that all he really wanted was for her to be happy. If being with Yuki meant she would be happy, then so be it. He wouldn't interfere, no matter how much he wanted to. Kyo thought back to all the times they had shared together. Her goofy smile flashed through his mind, as did her adorable panicking whenever something even remotely went wrong. He smiled in spite of himself. She really was too cute for her own good. He remembered shared moments on the roof of Shigure's house, shared meals she had prepared herself, and shared secrets in the dead of night. How could he have been so wrong about how she felt? How did he manage to fall so hard for someone who didn't feel that way too? Kagura's face came to his mind, and he cringed. Was this how she felt every time he shunned her? Kyo found himself gaining a new respect for the girl that had plagued his life since they were children. His thoughts turned back to Tohru. Yes, he wanted her to be happy. She was always adorable, but especially so when her goofy grin spread across her face. Maybe he'd even stop fighting Yuki; he knew she always hated it when the two fought.

Kyo's face clouded over with that thought. If he stopped fighting Yuki, he'd be locked up for sure, which he definitely didn't want. Damn his stupidity. Why did he have to make that bet with Akito? Then again, if he was locked up, he couldn't interfere with the relationship even if he wanted to. Yes, that would be best for her. Yuki would be there to comfort her, though the thought of the rat being with her still stabbed his heart whenever he thought about it, and she would be happy until he left because he wouldn't be fighting Yuki. He would restrain himself and not fight the damn rat, for her. It was the only thing he could think of to do to express his love for her.

As Kyo condemned himself to imprisonment, Tohru fitfully slept, her dreams filled with horrible images of Kyo being dragged away and Akito laughing at her as she cried for the cat. She awoke with a start, her last dream more disturbing than the others she'd had. Yuki and Kyo had been fighting, and Yuki had injured Kyo. As she watched, Akito had appeared and stood next to the fallen cat, laughing at her for crying. Then, Akito had kicked Kyo hard, again and again. However, in the dream, Akito was no longer the frail man who had abused her; he was strong, very strong. He kicked the cat in the stomach, the head, the legs, everywhere. Soon, Kyo was bruised and bleeding. Laughing, Akito disappeared as suddenly as he'd appeared. She'd run to Kyo's side, and cried when the teen hadn't responded to her voice. Hatori had suddenly appeared, and he had coldly pronounced Kyo dead. With the announcement, she'd woken in a cold sweat.

Her head throbbed from her sudden movement, and she sank back onto her pillow with a small groan. Looking to her side, she found herself alone, and she wondered if Kyo was here or out taking a walk. Slowly the events from yesterday returned to her, and she suddenly felt her heart leap to her throat as she recalled Yuki's statement about the cat. Kyo had seen the kiss. What did he think? Would he hate her? She knew Kyo had always been protective of her, acting like a bodyguard for her at school. His protectiveness was one of the things she liked about him; she felt very safe in his presence. She felt safe with Yuki too, but it wasn't the same. However, her present concern was for Yuki's safety. Kyo became violent when angry, especially when Yuki was involved. Or was it when she was involved? Perhaps both?

Her thoughts were interrupted and relief flooded her as Kyo sauntered into the room, looking more angry than usual. "Oh, you're up. Are you hungry? You've been asleep all day," he mumbled, not looking her in the eyes.

"Yes, Kyo-kun! That would be wonderful! Thank you!" she replied cheerfully, hiding her fear that he hated her for kissing Yuki. 'Oh no, he wouldn't even look at me. He looks more upset than usual too. I'm sure it's about the kiss, especially since he ran off like that yesterday. Should I say something to him? I don't want to offend him. But what if Yuki-kun was wrong and Kyo-kun wasn't in the woods yesterday? After all, it could have been an animal. Maybe a fox or something like that. Then I'd have to explain what I was apologizing to him for. Well, I usually need to do that anyway, but this time would be different. If he doesn't already know, then he'd be hurt. I don't want to hurt him, but I should probably apologize anyway, just in case he did see it and is angry with me. But maybe he doesn't want to talk to me? After all, he hardly said anything to me when he came in the room. But if he hates me, he probably wouldn't be cooking for me. But maybe…' Tohru's thoughts continued circling in her head to the point where her head started to ache from the indecision.

When Kyo returned to the living room with rice and soup for her, she was still lost in thought, indeed, so lost that she didn't hear him until he said her name. She screamed at the sound of his voice, startled out of her endless circle of self-doubt. "Ah! Kyo-kun! You scared me! I didn't hear you come in! I'm sorry!" Tohru exclaimed, panicking as he nearly spilled the soup on himself in surprise at her outburst.

"It's ok; just try not to space out so much. Otherwise, you'll give someone a heart attack with those screams," Kyo said irritably. He sighed as Tohru began to panic once more. "Look, relax. I don't care. Here's your food. Now eat and get some more rest. You need it if you want to get better," he told her gruffly as he gestured to her with the tray.

"Ok, Kyo-kun," she replied meekly, worried that she'd upset him. As she attempted to sit up, her head swam, and she winced in pain. She sank back to her pillow in defeat. Not wanting to bother Kyo more than she already had, she tried again with the same results. This time Kyo noticed her wince as she tried to sit, and he immediately set the tray down and moved to help her.

"Stop. Let me help," he commanded, worry creasing his face. He leaned over and helped her sit, arranging her pillows behind her.

"Thank you, Kyo-kun," Tohru whispered, her head still throbbing but grateful for Kyo's help. He placed the tray in front of her and left after he made sure she was eating.

As she ate, Tohru continued to ponder the events of yesterday, and soon, her spoon ceased moving from bowl to mouth as she once again became completely absorbed in her thoughts. No matter how many ways she turned the situation over in her mind she remained torn between apologizing to Kyo and remaining silent. This was a particularly unusual problem for her, since she normally would have apologized without pausing to second-guess herself. However, she was feeling unusually frightened of hurting Kyo, and something deep in her said that she perhaps had stronger feelings for him than she had previously realized. She didn't want to risk losing both his friendship and the possibility of something more by making the wrong decision. She felt the what-ifs begin to surround her as she stared off into space, ignoring the soup cooling in front of her.

Kyo pulled her from her reverie by once more entering the room and scaring her half to death. "You didn't finish your food," Kyo observed, once more growing concerned. Even if she hadn't liked the food, she normally would've finished out of sheer politeness; not finishing her lunch was extremely unusual, and it worried him.

"Oh, Kyo-kun, I'm sorry. It was very good, but I guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought I was. I'm sorry to put you through the trouble of making it if I wasn't going to eat it," Tohru looked down, ashamed that she'd caused him trouble.

Kyo sighed in frustration. Sometimes her perpetual apologies were enough to drive him crazy, no matter how much he cared about her. "Tohru, how many times do I have to tell you? It's ok, you don't need to apologize for everything. After all, it's not your fault you got hurt. It's that bastard Akito's fault. I mean, he IS the one that did this, right?" Kyo said, suddenly realizing no one had told him definitively that Akito had been the one who had hurt her. He'd just assumed, since Akito was always the most likely suspect when someone got seriously hurt.

Tohru looked down, clutching her spoon as tears welled up in her eyes as she recalled Akito's harsh words from the night before. "Yes," she whispered, barely loud enough for Kyo to hear, even with his sharpened senses. The volume of her answer caused him to look at her with concern.

"Tohru, look, I'm sure you'd rather talk about it to-" Kyo was cut off as everyone else burst into the house. He sighed and walked out of the room, unnoticed in the excitement.


	7. Chapter 7

Ok, I'm updating today. I'm getting rather frustrated with myself and my writing though. This chapter I like, but several others that I've been trying to revise just refuse to get better. Bah... O well. Thanks again for the reviewers, even though I've already thanked you once in the replies I sent you. I love you guys. You make this frustration worth it. :) So, thanks again, and I hope you like it. If you have any suggestions on making this better...or where you'd like this to go maybe... I'd be happy to hear it. 

Disclaimer: Things haven't changed since the last time I updated...It's still not mine.

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Chapter 7

Everyone was ecstatic as they entered the house. Akito was going home. Apparently the main house had called, and he was needed at the there. Now everyone would be able to spend the last few days of vacation with Tohru, helping her get better.

Upon hearing the news from the next room, Kyo decided to head to the roof, his favorite spot no matter where he was. Lying down on the shingles, he stared at the clouds drifting lazily by. 'Why do I still want to be close to her? She doesn't want me. Not like I want her. She wants Yuki, and I said I wouldn't interfere. I won't. Yuki is here now, and he isn't going to go see Akito everyday, so he can take care of her. She'll be happier if it's him. I can't do anything right anyway. She didn't even want to eat all of my soup today. She probably hates me. Well, maybe not hate. I'm sure she doesn't like me. Why should she? All I ever do is yell at her. She has every right to hate me.' His thoughts continued like this for a while, but soon his thoughts turned to other issues. 'What was she doing way out there in the woods anyway? We searched for hours before we found her. How the heck did she get herself that lost? Why didn't Yuki go with her? Maybe she doesn't love him? No, I saw her kiss him. She definitely loves him. Then maybe…no he definitely loves her too. Any idiot can see that. Maybe they had a fight?' His spirits rose at the thought, then quickly fell as he admonished himself. 'Fool, you shouldn't be happy that they had a fight. She was obviously upset about it, or else she wouldn't have run off and gotten herself hurt by Akito. Maybe I can help them. I mean, I did say I wasn't going to get in their way. If I help keep them together then I'm definitely not getting in the way. And she'll be happy, because she'll be with that damn rat. Yeah, that's what I'll do.' He sat up in triumph at his plan, despite the fact that it saddened him to know that he was willfully going to give up trying to win Tohru's heart.

As Kyo was making his big decision on the roof, Yuki was sitting next to Tohru, watching over her as she took another nap. Everyone else had either gone back outside or to their rooms. Yuki watched Tohru dream, fascinated by her small chest rising and falling. The scene was almost exactly as it had been that morning, with Yuki replacing Kyo. Tohru's nightmare from before came back to haunt her, replaying itself in her head in all of its gruesome glory. This time however, Yuki was there when she woke, shaking in fear.

"Honda-san! What's wrong?" Yuki exclaimed, worry apparent on his face as he jumped up to comfort her.

"Oh, Yuki-kun. It's nothing, just a bad dream. Nothing for you to worry about," Tohru replied, lying back to stop the throbbing in her head and to disguise her fear as sleepiness.

"Are you sure? You looked pretty upset when you woke up. Do you want to talk about it?" Yuki asked, concern still evident in his voice.

"Yes, Yuki-kun, I'm sure. It was just a dream. A scary dream yes, but only a dream." She continued to tell herself this as she drifted off to sleep again, attempting to ease her fears about the recurring nightmare.

Hatori entered the room shortly after she had gone to sleep again and sat himself beside Yuki. "How is she doing, Yuki?"

"She seems all right, but she just had a nightmare. She looked like she was scared to death, but she doesn't want to talk about it," Yuki said quietly.

"I wonder what she was dreaming about," Hatori murmured, and then louder to Yuki, "Do you think she could have been dreaming about something that happened yesterday?"

Yuki thought for a bit then said, "I guess it's possible. After all, we don't know what exactly Akito did to her, other than rough her up a bit."

"Did anything else happen yesterday?" Hatori asked, trying not to act as if he was prying, though he knew that was exactly what he was doing. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was beginning to become quite curious about what happened in the woods between the three teens. Shigure must be rubbing off on him.

"It really could have been a dream about anything. And stop prying. You're becoming as bad as Shigure," Yuki calmly said, neatly avoiding the question.

The two sat in silence for some time before Hatori finally stood to leave. "Yuki, I'm sure I don't need to say this, but if anything changes with her condition, come get me immediately." With that, he left the room, leaving Yuki alone with Tohru once more.


	8. Chapter 8

Bleh. I'm really starting to dislike my chapters. Unfortunately, the declining readership seems to confirm my fears that they're getting progressively worse. And it's another short chapter. I'm sorry. On the other hand, this one is considerably longer than it was when I first wrote it. So I guess you can all be thankful about that. Anyway, thanks for my sole reviewer. The rest of you can jump in on the reviews anytime, you know. If you don't want to leave a bad review or something then e-mail me. My e-mail is on my profile. I don't want to beg for reviews. I'm not going to stop updating because I don't get them. I'm just frustrated because if I don't get any feedback at all I don't know what I need to change to write stories that ARE good and worthy of good reviews. So come on, help me out.

Disclaimer: and I STILL don't own it.

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Chapter 8

Kyo came down from the roof for dinner, and noticed that Yuki looked unusually distraught throughout the meal. Immediately after dinner, Kyo walked up to the rat and looked at the ground, obviously nervous.

"Um, Yuki? Can I ask you something?"

Yuki looked at Kyo in surprise. He couldn't remember the last time the cat had called him "Yuki" if indeed he ever had. Not only that, but Kyo wasn't trying to pick a fight, he wasn't complaining about something, and he didn't even look angry. Could he be sick? "Um, sure, Kyo, what's on your mind?" Yuki asked, uncomfortable with the relatively calm atmosphere between the lifelong enemies.

"Well, I kind of wanted to ask you about yesterday. And why she ended up out where Akito could find her. I figured the two of you must have had a fight, and I wanted to know if maybe I could help or something," Kyo mumbled, his eyes fixed on his feet. "You know, like talk to her for you or something."

Yuki was shocked, and he immediately became suspicious. Kyo had never once offered to help him with anything. From the first day they had met, Kyo had done nothing but initiate fights and claim he hated the rat. "Why do you say that, you stupid cat?" Yuki asked, hoping that if nothing else, provoking the cat would make things seem more normal. He also decided to not bother correcting Kyo on the reason Tohru had run off. The less the cat knew the better, he figured.

Kyo clenched his fist in frustration. He knew he deserved the insult, but it still irked him that Yuki would be so rude when all he was trying to do was help. 'This is for Tohru,' he thought to himself, though it did surprisingly little to calm him. Finally, he managed to bite out, "I ask because Tohru deserves to be happy. If you two had a fight, then she's not happy. Since she obviously isn't interested in me, I figured I'd lend you a hand."

Surprised by Kyo's answer, Yuki tried again to irritate the cat and mumbled just loud enough for Kyo to hear, "Idiot."

"You damn rat! How dare you insult me when I was just trying to help! She should be HAPPY. And right now, it's obvious she isn't. So go make her happy!" Kyo exploded before storming off to his room, outraged that Yuki had thought so little of him.

Yuki stood stock-still in shock. Had he heard right? He couldn't believe that he could have. Because if he had heard correctly, then Kyo was being selfless, completely selfless. He was giving up a chance to be with Tohru for the sake of her happiness. Silently he turned and entered the living room where Tohru continued to sleep.

Once more by her side, Yuki found himself lost in thought, just as all others in that room had been that day. 'He obviously loves her. And, more than likely, she loves him. I really should just step out of the way; let them be together. But Kyo thinks she loves me. Does she? I mean, she didn't try to push me away when I kissed her. She ran when I said Kyo had seen us. Surely that doesn't necessarily mean that she loves him. After all, she ran after him the night Shishou took off Kyo's beads. She was probably just concerned about what he would think. Obviously, she didn't catch him, or else he wouldn't be thinking we'd had a fight. So, I kiss her, she runs after the stupid cat to explain what happened, gets lost, and finds Akito instead. Kyo was telling the truth last night when he said he hadn't seen her. But then, why would he have lied about that? Unless he did that to her. No. That's utterly ridiculous to suspect him after what he just said to me. What could cause him to think that she loved me though? One kiss? That seems a little unreasonable. He does seem to be closer to her at times though, perhaps she confessed it to him. That would certainly explain why he seems so sure about her feelings. It would also explain why he's willing to step aside. He knows he has no chance with her. Of course, I don't think he ever really had a chance, but that's beside the point. The point is that she told him she loves me. But why didn't she say anything after I told her I loved her? Maybe she realized her feelings afterward, and then she was too nervous to confront me about it. That sounds like something she would do. In that case, I probably shouldn't push her too much. I'll let her tell me in her own time.'

Having made this decision, Yuki shifted position and settled in to keep an eye on Tohru for a while before he went to bed.


	9. Chapter 9

Don't hate me for taking so long to update, please. I hired a cheap revising muse on this story. He likes to take very long extended vacations. The next chapter should be up much sooner. I pray it is anyway. Thanks goes out to my roommate for next year who will never read this author note for her comments on this chapter. I hope it helped as much as I think it did.

And please, don't hate me for making you wait so long for a short chapter. I'd make it longer if I thought it would fit. I promise. Short chapters...just seemed to work with this story. I can't really explain it. Sorry...

If anything good came of this long wait it was the encouragement it apparently gave people to review. Thank you so much to everyone that did. You guilted me into revising again.I'm being serious here. I eventually felt so bad about not giving you guys an update that I just sat down and dragged the muse back from vacation kicking and screaming. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own it. But if I did, I may very well write fanfic anyway. I intend to do that with a few stories of mine... Planning crossovers and such with different books I'm writing... Yes...lost in planning fanfiction to confuse everyone because the original author is writing it

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Chapter 9

Tohru woke up early the next morning with a clearer head than she'd had the previous day. In fact, she felt nearly well enough to make breakfast, which is exactly what she tried to do. However, after sitting up without trouble, she found herself becoming lightheaded as she tried to stand. As if on cue, Kyo entered the room on his way outside for his morning workout and found Tohru wobbling unsteadily on her feet. He gently pushed her down onto the couch, tucked her in, and told her to get some rest. Before she could protest, he had disappeared outside. She considered trying to stand again, but as she felt sleep start to tug at her senses, decided in favor of a short nap.

When she woke again a few hours later, she found Yuki sitting beside her finishing his takeout. "Oh, Yuki-kun, I didn't know you were there," she said, quickly sitting up.

Yuki laughed and replied, "Well, I suppose that makes sense. You were asleep after all."

Tohru blushed and stammered something unintelligible as Yuki stood to retrieve her breakfast for her. Kyo, watching the exchange from a doorway, smiled sadly to himself and disappeared into another room as Yuki approached.

Alone again on the roof, Kyo immersed himself in his thoughts. 'At least they seem to be getting along again. Maybe my talk with Yuki did some good after all. And I thought that damn rat was totally dense. Oh well. As long as she's happy, that's what matters.'

Tohru slowly ate her breakfast. She was extremely self-conscious with Yuki sitting on the ground beside the couch watching her, having finished his own meal some time ago. 'I wonder where Kyo-kun is. I haven't seen him at all today, other than this morning. Actually, I didn't really see much of him yesterday. Maybe he is mad at me. I really should apologize to him.' With that thought, Tohru made another attempt to get up from the couch. Her head was just barely swimming this time, and she was impressed with how much stronger the food had made her. However, to Yuki's eyes she was as unsteady as ever, and upon reentering the living room from throwing away her leftovers he helped her back to the couch and suggested she take a nap.

Tohru sighed in frustration. Apparently, Kyo wasn't the only one that wasn't going to let her get off the couch. Before she could even open her mouth to protest though, Yuki had tucked her in, placed a kiss on her forehead, and wandered off to the next room before deciding to go outside.

Sitting by the beach, Yuki pondered the situation again. 'I'm not pushing her, right? I mean, that last kiss wasn't assuming too much, I don't think. But if for some reason that stupid cat is wrong, then I probably offended her. Heck, if she doesn't love me then all of those kisses have probably offended her. She hasn't said anything to me about it though. So I guess she does love me. Imagine that, the idiot got something right for once.' He smiled softly to himself, confident in his assessment.

The confidence didn't last, however. 'What am I doing? I'm treating her like she's already mine. I have no business thinking about Honda-san like this. Loving her is one thing, but this, this doesn't even seem like me. I should know better than to just assume she loves me because she hasn't said anything to the contrary. Honda-san is the type of person who will always put someone else first; if she hasn't said anything, it's just as likely to mean that she doesn't love me and hasn't figured out how to tell me.' Very faintly, a small, tight ball of anger formed in the pit of his stomach as he finished that thought and stood to go inside.

Kyo was wandering aimlessly through the house when he found himself sitting beside the couch where Tohru was sleeping. 'What am I doing here? This isn't my place anymore. Yuki should be sitting by her, making sure she's ok.'

Just then, Tohru opened her eyes. Noticing Kyo sitting beside her, Tohru became unexpectedly embarrassed and began to blush. 'What's wrong with me? Kyo-kun is just sitting there, keeping me company as I sleep. Yuki-kun was doing that earlier, and I didn't feel embarrassed at all then. Well, ok, yes, I did, but it was different. That was just being embarrassed about him watching me eat. Kyo-kun is just sitting there, staring off into space. So why on earth would I be like this now? Why is he staring off into space anyway? That doesn't seem like something he'd normally do. Maybe he's thinking about the other day, but, no, he didn't seem like this yesterday. Perhaps I've done something to offend him. But what? I haven't been able to do anything; I've just been lying here on the couch. Maybe that's it. He must be upset that I wasn't able to make breakfast this morning. Or maybe he wants to sit on the couch, and he can't because I'm lying here.' She had just opened her mouth to offer him a seat and apologize for her rudeness this morning when Kyo suddenly stood and left the room without giving her a second look. Her face fell as she watched him leave.


	10. Chapter 10

This is by far the chapter I'm happiest about, up to this point. It's been extensively revised, and at this point, I don't know that there's much of the original version of this chapter still in existence. It's all for the better though, and I hope you guys like this one as much as I do. I'm sorry it's short, but updates should be coming out faster in the future. I have an awesome beta, laniani, who helped me make this chapter much better. I think she's also going to get on my butt about getting chapters to her faster.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, just my plot.

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Kyo was lying on the roof, pondering his situation. 'I shouldn't be around her. If I am, I'm just going to get in the way. I might be able to avoid her for the rest of vacation, but there's no way I can live with her. I'll end up telling her how I feel, and that would ruin everything. She'd be so concerned about not hurting my feelings that her relationship with Yuki would be destroyed. I can't let that happen, but how do I avoid her while living at Shigure's?'

He sat straight up as an idea struck him. 'I'll just move back to Shishou's! I bet he'd understand if I explained why I wanted to come back.'

Another thought promptly put a damper on Kyo's excitement. 'Oh shit, Akito told me to live with Shigure in the first place. I'm going to have to get that bastard's permission to leave. I suppose that's what I'll be doing first thing when we get back. Until then…I'll avoid her. If I don't, I know I'll tell her. This is what's best for her…' Kyo sighed. 'But, if it's really what's best, why does it make me feel so rotten?'

Tohru was lying on the couch wishing she'd be allowed to do something other than eat and sleep. She laughed a bit to herself as she recalled the fuss Yuki had made over her when she'd told him earlier that she had to go to the bathroom. In the end, he'd very carefully carried her to the restroom, despite the fact that she knew perfectly well that she could have walked on her own and made it just fine. She'd allowed him to carry her though, since it had seemed that if she didn't he was going to argue with her until she couldn't hold it anymore.

'I wonder why Kyo-kun left so suddenly. I hope he's not too angry with me. As soon as they let me off of the couch I'll go apologize to him. I do hope they'll let me move soon. I'd really rather rest in bed, but since they won't let me walk, they'd have to carry me upstairs. I'm sure they'd end up transforming if they did that. That would be so terrible!

'I should be grateful that such wonderful people care about me so much, especiallyYuki-kun. He's so kind, and he's been taking wonderful care of me today. He…loves me. I should really give him an answer, but I'm not ready yet. I know it's not fair to keep him waiting, but- I don't think my answer will be "I love you too." I don't think I love him, at least not like that. I'm not sure that I really love anyone like that, right now. I do like Yuki-kun, but, no, it's not love. I'll tell him that tonight. I'm not really sure yet how I'm going to tell him, but I will. As soon as I figure out what I'm going to say.'

Meanwhile, inside, Yuki was trying to convince the younger Sohmas that Tohru needed rest and that they could visit her tomorrow. Yuki eventually gave in and allowed Momiji and Kisa to visit with Tohru for a while, and they readily agreed to keep their visit short. After he'd said good night to Tohru, Momiji wandered into the kitchen, finding Haru sitting at the table and eating a bowl of instant ramen.

Momiji sat across from his cousin, and, after a few minutes of silence, decided to voice his thoughts. "Haru, do you know what's going on with Yuki? He seems different somehow."

Hatsuharu took another bite of ramen before speaking. Finally, he replied, "He's been around Honda-san a lot more since she was hurt."

"It might be because she's hurt that he wouldn't let me and Kisa see Tohru, but he seems angrier, almost."

Haru nodded. "Last night he and Kyo were talking in the hall, and it sounded like Kyo was trying to smooth things over between Yuki and Honda-san, but Yuki kept trying to pick a fight." Haru didn't bother adding the obvious, that picking a fight with Kyo was something Yuki never did. Kyo was always the instigator.

"Did something happen between Yuki and Tohru? Why was Kyo trying to help?"

"Kyo seems to have gotten the idea that Honda-san loves Yuki, and he wants Honda-san to be happy. She doesn't feel that way though. She loves Kyo."

Momiji thought for a moment and immediately saw the truth in Haru's statement. Tohru's feelings were obvious, once he'd said it. He knew Tohru hadn't even realized this about herself though; she had told him so earlier that summer when he'd asked. He smiled a little sadly as he said, "We often miss what is right in front of us, especially when it is what we wish for most."

Haru raised an eyebrow in question.

"Oh, nothing, Haru. I was just thinking about something Tohru told me last week."

"All right then; good night, Momiji. Don't get too nosy." With that, he exited the kitchen and went upstairs to the room he shared with the rat.


	11. Chapter 11

Yay! I updated again! And much sooner this time, too. Thanks to my wonderful reviewers, and thanks again to my awesome beta laniani for her wonderful job making sure I didn't screw up the characters too badly.

Before we get to the story though, I have some sad news I'd like to share. My close friend (and first boyfriend) died last weekend, on July 1, and I'd like to ask you guys to keep his family and friends in your prayers. He was a great guy that deserved a much longer life. He'll be forever missed by everyone that knew him. We love you, Alex.

Disclaimer: No, they still aren't mine. I just enjoy messing with their lives for a while. I'll put them back when I'm done, I promise.

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According to his plan, Kyo avoided Tohru as much as he could the last few days of vacation. It wasn't difficult since she was still confined to the couch the majority of the time.

Her injuries had been fairly minor, but anytime she tried to stand, someone inevitably walked into the room and forced her to lie down. Finally, on the last day they were at the summerhouse, Hatori asked if she felt well enough to try moving. She explained that she had felt fine for days, but no one would let her do anything. He laughed a little to himself, imagining the concerned expression on Yuki's face seeing her stand unsteadily on her own, and helped her up. He also told her that she was permitted to do anything she felt able to and that she should tell anyone who disagreed to talk to him. She smiled excitedly and immediately walked out of the living room and straight into Kyo.

As their upper bodies touched, there was a puff of smoke, and Kyo transformed. Tohru braced herself for his yelling which always came when she was particularly clumsy, but it never came. She cautiously opened her eyes and saw a very quiet orange cat walking away, dragging his clothes in his mouth.

Her heart leapt to her throat. It had been the first time in days that she'd even seen Kyo, and she'd already upset him. She wanted to run after him and ask him what she'd done to make him so angry with her, but the words died in her throat. She sank to her knees and dissolved into tears.It was in that position that Yuki found her a few minutes later.

"Honda-san? Are you all right? Shouldn't you be resting?" Yuki asked, rushing to her side and crouching beside her. Unable to control the sobs wracking her body enough to speak, she shook her head vigorously. Yuki was desperate to stop her crying. He'd never seen her like this. The only other time he could remember seeing her cry at all was on New Year's when he and Kyo had left her alone. She was always cheerful, nothing could get her down. He'd often suspected that she was hiding her real emotions under that beautiful smile, but seeing her cry like this was beginning to scare him. He knelt by her and tried to get her to return to the living room and the couch. She surprised him by not only resisting him, but by also leaning over, crying on his lap.

Her actions were impulsive; she was barely even conscious of the fact that her head was on his lap. She only knew that she liked the human contact. The warmth of his body so close to her was more comforting to her than either fully realized.

'What on earth happened to her?' Yuki wondered. He was completely baffled by her behavior, and eventually gave up trying to figure it out on his own and let her cry.

Finally, Tohru managed to stop crying enough to tell Yuki how she had bumped into Kyo. "Yuki-kun? What's wrong with Kyo-kun? Why is he acting so strange?" Tohru whispered through her tears.

"Honda-san, you shouldn't worry yourself over him. He's just being moody. I'm sure he'll be back to his old self in no time," he assured her, gently running his hand through her hair as he did so. Inside though, he was wondering himself why exactly Kyo was acting so oddly; the cat had been avoiding Tohru, and everyone else, for days. He made a mental note to confront him about it later. Until then, he was relishing the feel of having Tohru seek comfort from him. Soon her crying subsided completely, and she was fast asleep on his knees.

Alone in his room, Kyo was fighting tears himself. He hated being like that around her. He hated not seeing her goofy smile and her clumsiness. All he wanted to do was run down to her and apologize for his rudeness, but the promise he'd made on the roof prevented him from doing so. He no longer trusted his voice around her, no longer trusted his face. If he attempted to apologize it was likely to turn into a declaration of love, since he wanted to let her know his feelings more than anything. However, that wouldn't work. No matter how much it hurt him, he would stick to his promise and not interfere with her relationship with Yuki. He pretended that it was better this way, this miserable loneliness. No matter how he tried though, he couldn't stop the pain of not seeing her smiling face.

Later that night, after most everyone else had gone to bed, Yuki knocked on Kyo's door. Opening it, the sleepy cat looked surprised to see his enemy standing there. "What do you want, Yuki?" Kyo growled.

Dumbfounded once more by the use of his name rather than "damn rat" or another insult, Yuki was momentarily speechless. Quickly he remembered what had sent him here in the first place though and his anger grew. "What do you think you're doing, stupid cat? She's worried about you. You should have seen her earlier, after you transformed. Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want her to be happy! That's all. If that means her being with you, then fine. She can be with you. I'm done. When we get back, I'm going to see Akito about moving back in with Shishou; then you won't have to worry about me getting in the way. Now, I'm tired, and I'm going to go get some sleep." With that, Kyo shut the door on the dumbstruck rat.


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks once more to laniani for being a wonderful beta. Without her help, my chapters would remain pure crap. Now, they are nicely refined crap…perhaps refined enough to be above the name crap. Hehe, I jest. I'm rather happy with how the chapters are turning out anymore. Anyway, to the story!

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Disclaimer: Not mine now, not mine ever.

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Immediately after arriving home and unpacking the car, Kyo practically ran all the way to the main house.

Upon reaching the gates, Kyo skidded to a stop and caught his breath. Steeling his nerves, he raised a fist and pounded, demanding entrance. The gigantic doors cracked open and a maid's head appeared briefly, sizing up the boy in front of her.

"What do you want?" she barked.

"I need to talk to Akito."

"The cat isn't allowed to see Akito-sama unless it is called for. We were not told to expect you, so leave." Without another word, the doors slammed shut. The echoing bang had a sense of finality that resonated through Kyo's body.

Kyo sighed, frustrated. He should have expected this to happen. There had been days in his childhood where the maids treated him worse than Akito did. Gritting his teeth, he raised his hand and pounded again.

The gate didn't even open this time. "If Akito-sama hasn't called for the cat then it isn't permitted past these gates. Those have been the rules for centuries. They are not going to change because some impudent monster thinks its business with Akito-sama is urgent."

"Please. I know Akito would want to see me." In truth, Kyo doubted that tactic would work. Akito never wanted to see him, even when he called for the cat.

"You're lying."

"No I'm not! Come on, open up! I need to talk to Akito!"

There was no answer. Kyo listened carefully and heard footsteps faintly retreating. He briefly wondered if she'd bought his story, but then he realized she was probably going to check with Akito. He sat and waited for an hour, hoping his luck would turn and she'd come back with good news. When no one appeared he gave up and decided to try the alternate plan he'd though up while he waited.

* * *

Kazuma opened the door in surprise. "Kyo! What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

Kyo stared at his feet and mumbled something unintelligible.

"Kyo, if you want me to understand, you need to speak louder," Kazuma said gently.

"I WANT TO LIVE HERE AGAIN, SHISHOU!" Kyo yelled, determined to say it before he changed his mind. Kazuma blinked in surprise. Kyo very rarely yelled anymore; this type of outburst had become extremely unusual.

"Kyo, I thought we agreed that it was best if you continued to live with Shigure-kun. Of course, you're welcome to stay the night whenever you want, but we'd have to talk to Akito about you living here. After all, he is the one who ordered that you live at Shigure-kun's in the first place. What brought about this decision, anyway?" Kazuma calmly questioned the agitated boy.

Kyo hung his head and mumbled about Tohru and Yuki. Kazuma quickly understood that there was more to this than where Kyo lived. He ushered Kyo inside, and they sat around the low table in the living room.

Kyo continued to stare at his hands in silence, and Kazuma waited patiently. He knew his son would speak when he was ready.

"I used to think I hated that house, living there. You said it would heal me, that I didn't really hate it." Kyo took a deep breath before continuing. "You were right. I don't hate it."

"And yet you wish to leave."

"I have to. If I stay there I'll tell her." Kazuma knit his brows. It was no secret to him that Kyo had feelings for Tohru, but his son had never told him this. Was Kyo admitting his feelings now?

"And you can't tell her because of Yuki, correct?"

"Exactly, Shishou. I don't care about that damn rat's feelings, but she's in love with him."

Kazuma raised his eyebrows at this statement but remained silent.

"I- I saw her kiss him. While we were on vacation. I didn't say anything to them about it, but I could see it on her face. She loves him. If I tell her how I feel then she'll worry about hurting my feelings. I'd ruin her relationship with him. I can't hurt her like that, Shishou. That's why I have to leave there. I have to get away from her so she can be happy."

Kazuma couldn't hide his concern over this line of thinking. "Kyo, have you ever thought of the effect leaving would have on her, especially if you don't give her a reason? Whether she loves Yuki or not, she surely cares about you and would worry if you suddenly decided to leave."

"She'd have Yuki there. She doesn't need me."

Kazuma held back a sigh. He had a feeling that somewhere along the line Kyo had misunderstood, and leaving Shigure's house wasn't going to make things better. Until he knew more though, there was nothing he could do. Kyo's reasons for leaving, though probably not sound, were certainly selfless. It was obvious that Kyo didn't want to leave; he felt that he had to. He had certainly changed a lot since the last time he'd asked to move back to Kazuma's home.

Finally, Kazuma agreed to speak with Akito, to see if he would allow Kyo to move, and Kyo soon returned to Shigure's, feeling both happier and sadder than before. He was happy because now he'd be able to keep his promise without having to actively avoid Tohru, but he was sad because he knew he'd barely see her from now on.

Careful to avoid Tohru, Kyo wandered to the roof, where he stayed until darkness surrounded him. When he finally went down in search of food, he found leftovers sitting on the counter for him. There was a note sitting on the counter beside it. It was short and unmistakably in Tohru's handwriting. It simply said,

"Hope you feel better, Kyo-kun."

That small gesture of kindness was enough to make him doubt everything he'd tried to convince himself of since "the incident." He briefly wondered if he could have been wrong, if maybe she didn't want to be with Yuki after all. Then the image of their kiss flooded his mind, and he knew he could never win her heart. With a sigh he warmed the food, ate, and went to bed.


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry for the long wait, but I had the worst case of writer's block I've ever had, and I was reluctant to continue posting until it had passed. Thankfully, it has, and here is the next chapter.

Disclaimer: No, still not mine. Like I'll ever own Fruits Basket.

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The story so far (since it's been a while): After seeing Tohru and Yuki kissing in the woods, Kyo runs off, with Tohru following. Tohru meets Akito, and is beaten for "stealing" Yuki. Kyo, assuming that Yuki and Tohru are an item and mistakenly thinking they had a fight, vows to help the "happy couple" and stay out of the way, despite his feelings for Tohru. immediately after returning home, Kyo went over to the main house and then to Kazuma's, in an attempt to move out of Shigure's so that he could keep his promise and not interfere in Tohru and Yuki's relationship.

Momiji and Haru, among others, seem to believe there is something going on that isn't readily visible, and they also believe Tohru clearly has feelings for Kyo, rather than Yuki.

Tohru, for her part, has yet to come to terms with her feelings for either boy, while Yuki is becoming increasingly confident that Tohru's feelings are directed at him, rather than Kyo.

Chapter 13

"So my lovely monster wants to move," Akito said, gazing fondly at the small bird perched on his finger. His voice had an iciness to it that told Kazuma that the god had already made a decision about Kyo's living situation.

"That is correct, Akito. He no longer wishes to live with Shigure-kun," Kazuma replied respectfully. 'Please let him move. He'll die if you make him stay there.'

"I suppose it is natural to wish to leave a place if the one you love cares for another. Seeing that whore everyday with my precious Yuki must hurt. If it were only that, then perhaps I would be nice, and let my monster move. But I, too, have been hurt by this. Yuki does not love me if he loves that girl. I want my Yuki back. That girl will pay for stealing him from me. Perhaps Kyo can help me in this. If he stays there, then surely he will interfere. He cannot help it. His anger will get the best of him, and he will intervene in their relationship. What more could I ask for? Besides, the monster must pay for lying to me. He said he hated her."

The bird flew away; Akito turned his head so he was staring Kazuma in the face. "And if I find out that Kyo is living with you against my will, I will personally come and collect him early."

Kazuma bit back a sigh and nodded in understanding. As he stood to leave, he wondered how Kyo would take the news.

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"There, perfect," Yuki commented as he lit the last candle. Shigure was occupied at the main house for the evening, and Kyo was sulking in his room. Yuki was taking the opportunity to prepare a special meal for Tohru when she came home from work. Now, if he could just find that recipe…

"Hello! I'm home! Yuki-kun, where are you?" Tohru called out as she entered the house. She gasped as she saw the candles sitting on the table that was set for two. "Yuki-kun, what is this?" she asked as he emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron.

"Just something I thought you might enjoy. You deserve it after all. You do so much for us; it's time we returned the favor," he replied with a smile.

"Thank you! But where is Kyo-kun going to sit? The table is only set for two."

"He ate earlier and went to bed. I think he said something about not feeling well," Yuki inwardly winced at the lie. Kyo had said nothing of the kind, nor had he eaten. In fact, the rat hadn't even seen the cat that day. Kyo had been hiding in his room since he'd come back from wherever he'd gone after they'd returned from the trip.

"Oh, well, in that case, I really appreciate it, Yuki-kun. Thank you!" Tohru said brightly.

Yuki smiled and returned to the kitchen to finish preparing the food.

Some time later, Tohru was starting to become worried about the rat in the kitchen. She'd seen smoke come billowing out soon after she'd come home, and would have rushed in to help Yuki if he hadn't adamantly told her to stay where she was and that he was fine. Since then, the rather loud cursing and clattering coming from the direction of the kitchen had done nothing to put her at ease. She'd heard stories from Shigure about Yuki's talents in the kitchen, and they weren't pretty.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Yuki emerged from the kitchen with smudge marks on his face from something burnt and assorted sauces spilled on the apron. In his hands were two dishes, and as he placed one in front of Tohru, she nearly had to stop herself from gagging. On the plate was something burnt beyond recognition and covered in some sauce that smelled strong enough to wake someone from a coma.

Removing his apron and tossing it back into the kitchen, the half-open door temporarily gave Tohru a view of the disaster that used to be called a kitchen. Her eyes widened in fear at the thought of cleaning that up later, but she managed to control her expression when she turned again to face Yuki. Plastering a smile on her face, she cautiously took a bite of whatever it was on her plate.

Yuki looked on, anxious to see her reaction. He'd given her the less burnt piece, in the hope that it would taste a little better. He knew he was no wonder if the kitchen, but he'd tried this time, really tried. If only the recipe hadn't caught fire with the food, things might have turned out a little better.

Tohru's eyes watered as she struggled to swallow the bitter, spicy charcoal sitting in front of her. Seeing Yuki waiting for her reaction, she managed a smile and said, "Very good, Yuki-kun. Thank you." She hated lying outright, but there was no way she could crush him by telling him the truth, that it was the worst meal she'd ever tasted. As she reluctantly took another bite and gagged it down, Tohru found herself wishing Kyo had cooked her "thank you" meal instead. His cooking was far from perfect, but the soup he'd made her when she was sick had been not only edible, but really quite good.

Yuki knew that Tohru was lying the second he put a bite of the food into his mouth. His eyes watered as the strong conflicting tastes wrecked havoc on his taste buds. This was terrible. Even if her piece was a little better, there was no possible way it qualified as "very good." Even so, he swallowed his food like a man, and settled down to finishing every bite.

Tohru finally finished her piece of whatever it was, and realized that it had grown rather late. Between the excessive amount of time Yuki had spent "cooking" and the amount of time necessary between bites to prevent oneself from dying of sensory overload, several hours had passed since she'd returned home. The candles Yuki had lit were burning low, and Tohru recalled that she still had homework to do. After thanking Yuki again, she began clearing the table, only to have Yuki stop her and insist that he do it himself.

She handed him the plates, relieved that she wasn't going to have to do the brunt of the cleaning. No doubt she'd have to go in later and finish, but if Yuki could clean even half that mess, then it would save her hours of work. Sitting down at the table in the living room, Tohru did her homework to the tune of breaking plates and Yuki cursing at the stove. She had to giggle a little at that. Yuki was normally very mild mannered, and to hear him cursing more than Kyo was unusual to say the least.

From his room, Kyo could hear the racket downstairs. He smiled to himself at all the noise the rat was making, but when he heard Tohru's laugh his heart dropped to his feet. He'd done it; he'd succeeded. She was happy, and she was with Yuki. Kyo was no longer a necessary part of her life, if he ever had been. He'd managed to stick to his promise not to interfere with them, and his goal, her happiness, had been accomplished. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't eaten since breakfast or maybe it was something else, but he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to block out the noise from the first floor. Unable to do so, he silently made his way to the roof. Tears softly fell from his eyes, and he hugged himself to chase away the loneliness.

Physics was far from her best subject, but with all of Yuki's tutoring over the past several months, it was finally starting to come to her. His trick was to use real life examples whenever he could, so that she would have an easy reference guide wherever she looked. His favorite examples usually involved Kyo flying hundreds of feet at speeds that would have killed anyone else.

Since Yuki was busy cleaning, she relied on those examples to help her through the homework. Finally coming to the last problem, she bit her lip in frustration. She was never good at these ones, despite the abundance of examples Yuki and Kyo provided her with during their fights.

Whispering to herself, she worked through it, "Ok, first make Kyo-kun the ball, and then imagine Yuki kicking him through the door again. No, not through the door. Out in a field, where nothing would get in the way. If he traveled at thirty meters per second at an angle of twenty degrees, how far would he go? Um…" Struggling to imagine the scenario in her head, she squeezed her eyes closed, blocking out Yuki's noise in the kitchen. Suddenly, the scene played itself out perfectly in her mind, exactly as the problem dictated. Her dream from vacation flooded her mind, and she gasped in surprise.

Closing her eyes a second time, the scene replayed until she opened her eyes in fear. Why couldn't she forget that dream? Why was the only thing going through her mind the image of Yuki sending Kyo flying away? She needed to focus on physics, not dreams. Trying once more to imagine it as a physics problem, she soon became lost in memories of Kyo flying through walls. Before she realized it, she was fast asleep on top of her books, the last problem unfinished.

Exiting the kitchen, Yuki saw Tohru passed out, homework scattered. He chuckled to himself at how dedicated she was to her schoolwork and gently picked her up and carried her upstairs to her room. He tucked her in and made his way to his room. As he drifted off to sleep, the only things on his mind were images of Tohru sleeping and how she was now his.

Waking up shivering in the cool night air, Kyo felt his stomach growl. 'Damn it. Aw hell, I might as well go and get myself something to eat.'

When he entered the kitchen, he immediately understood why the rat had been cursing so much. It was still a disaster area. Sighing at Yuki's incompetence at housecleaning, he set about finishing the job properly. When it was done, he made himself a few rice balls as "dinner" and entered the living room to eat.

This room was also a mess, as Tohru's homework was still scattered. He noticed the physics she'd fallen asleep on and smiled sadly to himself. Grabbing her pencil, he quickly worked through the last problem, remembering countless times he'd been a shining example of the ball from the exercise. Tucking the papers into her bag, he finished eating and went to bed himself.


End file.
